Can Scott Brown Replace John Kerry if He's Making Up Stuff About the Cliff?

Scott Brown will soon be out of a job, and it's no real secret that he will become the leading contender — even with new competition — in a special election to fill John Kerry's soon-to-be vacant Senate seat. So why is he making all this stuff up?

Scott Brown will soon be out of a job, and it's no real secret that he will become the leading contender — even with new competition — in a special election to fill John Kerry's soon-to-be vacant Senate seat. So why the heck is he making all this stuff up?

So it surprised a lot of people today when Brown announced, on his way to board a plane back to Washington one last time — and on Facebook no less — that the president had made a new offer on the fiscal cliff ... that didn't exist. There's some indication he might not be completely making it up, but almost all signs point to him making it up.

Brown's going to face some stiff competition back home, too. Longtime Democratic congressman Edward Markey officially threw his name in the hat today. He's served in Congress since 1976, so it's not like people don't know who he is. He's been around forever. Brown won't have to worry about Ted Kennedy Jr., another suspected heavyweight contender for Kerry's seat, dropped out of the race. (Or Ben Affleck, for that matter.) Reps. Mike Capuano and Stephen Lynch are both expected to enter the race, too, but we suspect it will be Markey vs. Brown that has top billing.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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Connor Simpson is a former staff writer for The Wire. His work has appeared in Business Insider and City Lab.